Yet Another Reason Why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Rewards

 

I've used Chase Ultimate Rewards to travel all over the world for FREE. The points came in very handy to erase Airbnb reservations (this promotion ended) and for flights when we visited the Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia, Argentina. 

I love CUR rewards because they are so flexible. If you don't know where you want to stay or where you will be traveling, then these points are for you. That's because you can transfer them to dozens of different airlines and three hotel chains, Hyatt, IHG and Marriott. 

Sometimes the deal is even better transferring CUR than using the points in the travel portal and sometimes the portal is a better value. 

Yet Another Reason Why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Rewards 

Here is an example that happened just last week. 

I had my eye on the Hyatt in Evanston, Illinois, just outside of Chicago for an upcoming trip. 

The cash price was showing $350 per night, ouch! 

In the Chase Travel Portal, it was showing $320 per night or 48,005 points. I get 50% more value for my points in the portal because I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred gets 25% more value in the portal.  

But when I checked the Hyatt website, standard rooms are just 12,000 points per night. 

Woohoo! That means by transferring CUR to Hyatt at 1:1 cuts the number of points needed in half and has a value of $740. Nice. 

It's simple to transfer CUR points to dozens of airlines and hotel chains. When you log into your Chase.com account and click on redeem points

Then click on the menu in the top left hand corner and choose transfer to travel partners. 

CUR points transfer immediately to Hyatt and you must transfer in 1,000 point increments. Sometimes Chase will offer a bonus when you transfer. 

You will need to create an account with the EXACT name on your Chase account BEFORE you attempt to transfer the CUR points. 

Once you submit, you cannot get the CUR points back so be certain this is what you want to do. 

When I transferred to Hyatt, the points showed up immediately in my new Hyatt account and I could book the hotel in Evanston. Amazing! 

Yet Another Reason Why I LOVE Chase Ultimate Rewards 

Right now, the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card is offering a 100,000 CUR bonus with a $8,000 minimum spend. It's a hefty minimum spend, but usually it is set at $15,000 so you might say this minimum spend is a bargain. If you have a big expense coming up or can handle the minimum spend, this bonus can be worth thousands of dollars. 

We are hearing this bonus may end September 23rd.